IJPM lecture series ‘Law, Politics and the Media’ launches Jan. 30; executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System first guest

IJPM lecture series ‘Law, Politics and the Media’ launches Jan. 30; executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System first guestJanuary 29, 2008Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

On Wednesday, Jan. 30, the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics and the Media at Syracuse University (IJPM) will launch a semester-long lecture series “Law, Politics and the Media” with a visit from Rebecca Love Kourlis, executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) and former Colorado Supreme Court Justice. The lecture, “Building Transparent Courthouses: Accountability through Strong Judicial Performance,” will take place from 2:30-4 p.m. in Room 204 at the Syracuse University College of Law. It is open to the public. Parking is available in SU pay lots.

The American judicial system today operates in a complex environment of legal principle, political pressure and media coverage. The goal of the “Law, Politics and the Media” lecture series is to provide an introduction to the court system and its environment as a single, integrated subject of study. Throughout the spring semester, sitting judges, practicing lawyers and working journalists will be featured speakers.

The lecture series is part of an interdisciplinary course on law, politics and the media that is cross-listed between the College of Law and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The course is taught by SU professors Keith Bybee (IJPM director), Lisa Dolak (IJPM associate director) and Mark Obbie (IJPM associate director) and funded through support from the John Ben Snow Foundation and the Carnegie Corp. of New York.

Kourlis served Colorado for nearly two decades as a trial court judge, and later as a Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. In 2006, she established the IAALS at the University of Denver. The institute has already achieved recognition as a national voice for civil justice reform and was recently named Legal Reform Organization of the Year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Kourlis earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford University and a juris doctor from Stanford University Law School.

Launched in September 2006, IJPM is an academic institute devoted to the interdisciplinary study of issues at the intersection of law, politics and the media. A collaborative effort of SU’s College of Law, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Newhouse School, the institute sponsors lectures, conferences and symposia designed to foster discussion and debate among legal scholars, sitting judges and working journalists.

For more information on the “Law, Politics and the Media” lecture series and IJPM, visit http://jpm.syr.edu.